1. I’m obsessed with being well-hydrated, when I’m running or not. Nuun helps me achieve that goal.
2. My favorite flavors: Tropical,Strawberry Lemonade, Fruit Punch.
3. They have the cutest packaging ever.
4. Licking a Nuun tablet before I put it in my water is kind of like the grown up version of Pop Rocks.
5. It is the only way Kara Goucher and I will ever be on the same team.
6. On days I’m not feeling the workout, I remind myself that if I do, I get to drink Nuun.
7. Nuun Energy—they added Caffeine and Vitamins, people! I can’t wait to race using that!
8. I am excited to wear this snazzy singlet in my post-baby races.
9. Running Hood to Coast on the Nuun team was one of the greatest experiences of my running life, and I’m proud to be associated with a brand that treats its biggest fans the way they treated us.
10. It works, people. It works. Trust the force, Luke.
11. No gummy, gunky, sugary energy drink mouth—even after 26.2 miles.
12. The athletes I’ve met both in real life and online who also love Nuun inspire and encourage me every day.
13. They got my sense of humor when I sent them this video:

14. They’ve made me a hydration authority among my network of people. Now I get to help people reach their goals—that’s an awesome thing.
15. I get to rebuild a lot of things in 2015 after injury and baby. Knowing that both Nuun the company and Nuun the product has my back motivates me to do my best.

Thank you. Thank you for the most amazing four days of fun. Thank you for showing me and the other Hood to Coast team members the time of our lives. Thank you for getting it–for understanding that endurance athletes want a great experience, and delivering it. First, in making a product that makes achieving our goals easier and more enjoyable by giving us a tasty way to hydrate. And more importantly, for getting that the greatest gift you could give the biggest fans of your product is an unforgettable, amazing experience with other people who feel likewise. We don’t need to see your product in a magazine or billboard.. But we love tasting it at the end of a race, and drinking it with another sweaty athlete, and sharing the Nuun love with others who haven’t experienced it yet.

Thank you for hiring great people who love what they do–people who don’t blink an eye at giving up time and effort to make sure a bunch of us can participate in an epic race like Hood to Coast, people who are willing to give up dinner to make sure that your rungry guests can pig out, people who are thoughtful and kind. Thank you for building relationships with businesses like Oiselle, Amphipod, Endorphin Warrior, Swiftwick, Tiger Tail and Naawk, and then letting us reap the benefit by filling our suitcases with swag.

Mason, thank you for your generosity and hospitality. You made us feel like we belonged there with Nuun, and that is an incredible thing to do for 30+ far-flung strangers.Megan, thank you for the countless hours you put into communicating with us, organizing complicated itineraries, and making sure we were so well taken care of. I’m sure I don’t know the half of what you did, but I do know that you did it all well, and with a smile on your face. I can’t thank you enough.
Jay, Vishal, Jeantel, and Jeff, who all drove vans, thank you for foregoing sleep to make sure your vans only had to worry about running, not fighting traffic.

Casey, (who drove my van) thank you for being a rock for Team Watermelon Van 2. Your experience and confident know-how helped us make each exchange with ease and kept us free from drama and too many curb roadkills.Zoe, thank you for always smiling big and encouraging us big, too. You rock.Laura, you repeatedly gave up your own comfort for all of us on W2. You ran long and hard, and still played the role of host with a smile. You are a helper and I am grateful for you.Lauren, you were a fearless leader and laugh-generator for Team Lemonade. Thank you.

Team Watermelon, you dominated Hood to Coast. Thanks for letting me in on the fun.

Megan, Thank you for always being positive and upbeat, and for being a total track nerd. You are a mermaid.

Meghan, Thank you for showing me what running as a teenager does for a young woman. You inspire me to make sure my daughters run.Lisa, There are no words. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for caring.Devon, Thank you for being a model of drive and responsibility. You are steady and strong and I appreciate you!

Mallory, you are a fierce warrior. Thank you for being your own person.Kara, your zest for life is contagious. Thanks for bringing the fun.Hannah, thank you for your positivity and your obvious run love.Sarah, thank you for choosing to do hard things. You are a powerhouse, and just incredible.Catey, thank you for showing us how a hardcore mother runner gets it done–with a smile every time.

Team Lemonade, thanks for being the faithful compadres of Team Watermelon. Every time we got to see you, it made the race that much more special.

Leslie, thank you for making us all laugh and for keeping things real as well. Also, for your encouragement you’ve always given on blog posts and Twitter.Lisa, thank you are for being so warm and kind. I enjoyed every encounter, and wished for more.Jolene, you are an amazing woman. Steely. Yet your openness and warmth and willingness to help care for everyone around you were a gift to us all.Andrea, thank you for always having a smile on your face and a funny remark.Kristen, thank you for being a bright, sunny encouragement both online and IRL.Kimberly, thank you for speaking my language–your self-deprecating sarcasm gets an A+ in my book.Karen, thank you for being calm and steady and determined.Jesica, thank you for inspiring me and so many others to overcome challenges and run longer and stronger. So glad we can have mini-reNuunions in ATL.Holly B., thank you for being a sweet, kind spirit.Holly R, thank you for being such a great ambassador for the sport of running, and for allowing me to bask in the glory of #TeamHollyRoberts.

Team Cherry Limeade, you ladies ran fast and worked so very hard and I know you inspired people on the teams and out on the course. Dorothy, Robyn, Katie, Jenny, Julia, Sara, Paige, Emily, Tanaya, Alison, Tere, Jen, thanks for using your athletic prowess to spread the Nuun love.

There is so much more to share and say, but I wanted to start with the most important part. THANK YOU NUUN, for an incredible weekend. Thank you all.

Like this:

Well, I’m all packed!!! Let’s go! Where’s the van?!? I’m ready to run Hood to Coast in… 8 more days. Yeah. Still got a little while.

In my defense, I have actually already left home to go on my HTC adventure. The kids are staying with my parents in Chicago while I runcation, so we left Tuesday so we can visit some family and friends in the midwest before landing at the homestead.

Which meant I had to pack early. BEFORE THE 10 DAY FORECAST was available. I am a 10-Day-Forecast-Stalking-Enthusiast, so this caused me no small amount of displeasure. However, we were driving (read: lots of space), so I was able to throw in a lot of stuff that won’t necessarily make the final cut when it’s time to get on the plane. Here’s the initial stack. I’m on team watermelon, so, lots of pink.

We have been warned about overpacking. I mean, they haven’t threatened to withhold the Nuun or anything but I’ve relayed enough to know: you always need less than you think, except when you need That Thing You Didn’t Think You Would Need. I have dug out my old backpack from my Appalachian Trail hiking days and am planning to carry-on to Seattle. I’m also planning to take three pairs of running shoes, as I was recently informed that it takes 24 HOURS for shoes to get their ‘springiness’ back after a run. All of which means… I must muster some major packing ninja skills in the next six days.

In light of that, I am trying to be REALLY self-controlled about what I will bring to wear when we are not at Hood to Coast itself. We will have Wednesday to see Seattle, with dinner & bowling at what I am sure is a far-hipper-than-me establishment. Then on Thursday, a visit to Oiselle HQ (yeah, I know. *dies*), a run at Green Lake, and then we will be Riding the Ducks. I’m expected to wear clothes for all that, right? But, I, who struggles with being cold except on the hottest of Atlanta days, will put my fashionable pride aside to be warm during the night at Hood to Coast. I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast…even if I have to sacrifice style in Seattle–Seattle of all places!– to do it.

*chanting* I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast. I can do this, people. I can do it.

Complicating matters, is my little technology addiction. I LOVE our videos from Ragnar, and so I’ve got two GoPros, gadgets to affix them to both things and people, another video camera, chargers for the cameras… Plus a power converter and a wifi hotspot. That’s a lot of gizmos for one backpack.

I suppose at some point I should study my legs, but I think they’re all pretty straightforward, on trails and country roads without many turns (huzzah!). Simple and somewhere in the 4-5-7 range, mileage-wise. I’m not too concerned–roll me out if the van and I will run. I’m runner 11, so if YOU would like to study my legs and report back, please, feel free.

I’ve finally let myself get excited about the race, something I wasn’t sure would happen while I was trying to recover. I’m more undertrained than I would like, but it’s better to be undertrained than injured. And what I’ve lost in training, I hereby solemnly promise to make up for in witty van banter and amusing tweets and Instagram pics for all to enjoy. Deal? Deal. Now, I’m off to go purge my packing list…

I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast, I will be warm at Hood to Coast. I will…

Happy Monday! Want to start the week with something juicy? Well, I have a very serious confession to make: I’ve been cheating on running. With a stationary bike. And *shhhhhhhh* I like it. I know, juicy, right? Seriously, it’s part of my cross-training as I rehab my leg and prepare for Hood to Coast. To be honest, I go through fits and spurts with the bike. I’d like to bike more outside–shoot, I’d actually love to do a duathlon one day. Problem is, I do not feel safe on the roads in Atlanta, and don’t have a nearby place to cycle. So it’s a gym thing for me for now, and unless I’m injured I rarely think to do it, because, well, I’d rather be running.

But right now I’m excited to be on the bike. I like working different muscles, I like feeling challenged… I’m coping really well.

I’m also running more, so that’s awesome. And between the two, plus some serious strength training I’ve been doing, I am not sweating my Hood to Coast prep as much as I once was. This is not the training cycle I’d hoped for, but there’s a lesson in here somewhere. Probably patience. Humility. All those wonderful things that running continues to teach me. 😀

—————–

Congrats to Amanda, who will soon be a hydrating machine. She won my Nuun giveaway be leaving comment #44 on the blog. Random.org chose that number, and so she wins the Nuun lottery. Congrats Amanda! And thank you to all the people who left the blog some love, and followed my adventures here, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

Now that I have toasted all who made the team, I will now share something with you about the contest, and me:

I really did do a toast. With Strawberry Lemonade Nuun, of course.

I almost didn’t send my video in. I had the idea for it swirling in my head since the contest last year. You see, I was a late convert to Nuun. I remember first hearing of it in early ’12 from Krissy, and then being introduced to it by Dimity and Sarah at the TLAM release party in Atlanta last year. I loved it the first time I used it, and haven’t trained without it since. I really am a big, big fan. But due to my late start to fan-dom, I only heard about the Nuun HTC contest two days before the entry deadline. I had the idea (and it really did come to me at night), but knew I didn’t have time to execute it properly. And so it stewed.

Then the contest announcement came this year. I wrote a script, and taped it with my husband and kids on a Saturday. But when I saw how I looked on screen, I came *this* close to telling him I didn’t want to send it. That my whole idea was stupid. That I looked awful. I even sent a few bad-self-image texts to my best friend, and divulged some of the feelings to my sister while we were in Charleston, too.

WELL. THANK GOODNESS FOR AWESOME SISTERS AND FRIENDS. My bestie basically told me to shove it. My sister nearly fell over laughing when she watched it, which is always a good sign. And the other applicants–thank goodness for the other applicants! After submitting the video to Nuun just an hour or so before the deadline, I did a little test. I tweeted the link at one of the quietest Twitter hours–just before Midnight Sunday. When I got up I had a few responses to it that were all extremely positive, and from strangers. I started to feel better, and watched it with fresh eyes. I started to get excited.

LESSON: I don’t want to get all Dove-Sketch-Artist-Commercial on you, but seriously: Don’t talk to yourself in a way that you wouldn’t talk to your friends. I wasted several days saying awful things to myself. Things I would never say to anyone else, I berated myself with. And my mood showed for it. And the worst: I know better! But sometimes you just revert. Don’t do that. (I’m talking to myself here. And to you.)

Anyway, enough about contests bringing out the worst in me. Let’s move on and talk about running.

I’m incredibly excited to meet the other runners on the team. During the whole waiting-for-the-judging process there was a lot of support flying around on Twitter, and I think that’s a good sign for team bonding come August. Here they are–don’t they look like a fun bunch (and well-hydrated, too)?

Like this:

Well, I did it. I submitted an application to run Hood to Coast with Nuun. I love it for many reasons, not the least of which are:

1. It involves me making fun of myself (one of my greatest skills).

2. It makes mention of the fact that I am a Duchess of Hazard (a story for another day).

3. It has a dream sequence.

See for yourself:

Shout out and a HUGE thank you to my husband, who shot and edited this, as well as doing the voices of the Three Runners. The dream sequence was an idea I had a nearly year ago but he helped me execute it and then frame it with the stuff about me to help it make sense. Thanks, David!

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Welcome to Twisted Running!

What you'll find here: Endurance. Strength. Beauty. Humor. Trials. Joy. Will. Triumph. Defeat. Life. The things all of us can find in running, and in life.